Egypt seeks anti –jihadist allies among Libyan tribes

Hundreds of Libyan tribal leaders met yesterday in Cairo. Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri: " Egypt will not hesitate to support her brother Libyans until they achieve security and reconciliation among themselves." Egyptian President ponders Arab States intervention in Libya, modeled on Yemen.

Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Hundreds of Libyan tribal leaders met yesterday in Cairo (pictured) at the invitation of the Egyptian authorities with the goal of preventing Islamist violence from infiltrating the areas along their shared border.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in fact, sees the growth of jihadist movements in Libya, the greatest danger to the security of his country and is seeking the cooperation of the leaders of the Libyan tribes to remove this threat.

Inaugurating the meeting, the Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shukri stressed the positive role that the tribes can play in restoring stability to the country fragmented after the fall of Gaddafi, with both governments and various militias that control parts of the territory.

"Egypt - said the minister - will not hesitate to support her brother Libyans until they achieve security and reconciliation among themselves." Egypt, he said, called on tribal leaders because they are the "backbone" of the stability, security and territorial integrity of their country.

According to some analysts, the Egyptian president is pondering an Arab States intervention in Libya, modeled on that taking place in Yemen, in order to fight the jihadists of the Islamic State and other radical groups in the country.

Egypt’s plan however, is hindered by the difficulty in reconciling hundreds of tribal leaders and the fact that the great majority tribes invited by Cairo sided with the internationally recognized government and only some of those with the unrecognized government of Tripoli.